Stationmaster Roubaud is outraged when he discovers that his young wife Séverine has been seduced by her godfather, the wealthy businessman Grandmorin. Consumed with jealousy, he coerces Séverine into helping him murder Grandmorin during a train journey from Paris to Le Havre.

The only witness to the crime is Jacques Lantier, a railway worker. Séverine seduces him to keep him quiet, but their affair suddenly turns into a passionate romance. Afraid of being discovered by her husband, Séverine asks Jacques to murder him..

Based on a celebrated 1890 novel by Emile Zola, La Bête Humaine is Jean Renoir’s darkest film. A mesmerising tale of obsession, jealousy and murder that bonds together three characters from different social backgrounds in a poisonous love triangle. Renoir’s bleak melodrama stars some of the best actors of the period at the peak of their game, with the great Jean Gabin in one of his most memorable roles. With its gloomy tone and the seemingly unavoidable tragic fate of obsession, crime and murder shared by its main characters, La Bête Humaine influenced significantly the development of both French and American film noir of the 40s and 50s.

“Dark and electric as a thunderstorm at midnight.” –EyeForFilm

Serie les Maîtres du Cinema

A celebration of French cinema through the masterpieces of its most renowned directors.
Every second and fourth Tuesday of the month at Uitkijk Cinema.
All films are screened from 35mm copies, with English subtitles.